2024 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA): ‘Kneecap’ Tops Wins

The 27th BIFA awards ceremony were held in a ceremony hosted by Peter Serafinowicz at Camden’s iconic Roundhouse where Kneecap and On Becoming a Guinea Fowl were top winners.

After collecting four craft wins, Rich Peppiatt’s Irish gangster rapper biopic Kneecap grabbed three more tonight, including Best British Independent Film and its trio of stars (all playing themselves) – Naoise Ó Cairealláin, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, & Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh – the award for Joint Lead Performance.

Rungano Nyoni won Best British Director for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, which also Susan Chardy the Breakthrough Performance award.

Best Lead Performance went to Marianne Jean-Baptiste for Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths (she also won the same prize from Los Angeles critics earlier today) and Best Supporting Performance went to Franz Rogowski for his role in Andrea Arnold’s Bird.

Sandhya Suri, writer/director of Hindi-language crime thriller Santosh, won Best Screenplay. The film, which is the U.K. entry for the Oscars International Feature Film category, also won Breakthrough Producer for Balthazar de Ganay and James Bowsher.

Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding was a double winner with cinematography and original music awards, and Alex Garland’s Civil War also grabbed two, for sound and effects.

The Special Jury Prize went to Fully Focused | Million Youth Media and the Richard Harris Award went to Sophie Okonedo.

Here is the complete list of winners.

Best British Independent Film

Kneecap – WINNER
Love Lies Bleeding
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
The Outrun
Santosh

Best Director

Andrea Arnold, Bird
Nora Fingscheidt, The Outrun
Rose Glass, Love Lies Bleeding
Rungano Nyoni, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – WINNER
Rich Peppiatt, Kneecap

Best Lead Performance

Radhika Apte, Sister Midnight
Susan Chardy, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths – WINNER
Elliot Page, Close to You
Saoirse Ronan, The Outrun
Alicia Vikander, The Assessment

Best Supporting Performance

Michele Austin, Hard Truths
Elizabeth Chisela, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Barry Keoghan, Bird
Jack O’Connell, Back to Black
Franz Rogowski, Bird – WINNER
Hayley Squires, Hoard

Best Joint Lead Performance

Ben Hardy and Jason Patel, Unicorns
Saura Lightfoot-Leon and Joseph Quinn, Hoard
Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart, Love Lies Bleeding
Naoise Ó Cairealláin, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, & Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh – Kneecap – WINNERS

Best Ensemble

The cast of Wicked Little Letters: Jessie Buckley, Olivia Colman, Anjana Vasan, Joanna Scanlan, Gemma Jones, Timothy Spall, Eileen Atkins, Lolly Adefope, Malachi Kirby, Hugh Skinner

Best Screenplay

Rich Peppiatt, Kneecap
Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska, Love Lies Bleeding
Rungano Nyoni, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Nora Fingscheidt and Amy Liptrot, The Outrun
Sandhya Suri, Santosh – WINNER

Best Documentary

The Contestant
Grand Theft Hamlet
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
Witches – WINNER

Best International Independent Film

All We Imagine as Light
Anora – WINNER
La chimera
No Other Land
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best British Short Film

Delivery
Housewarming
Meat Puppet
A Move
Wander to Wonder – WINNER

Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)

Christopher Andrews, Bring Them Down – WINNER
Luna Carmoon, Hoard
James Krishna Floyd, Unicorns (also directed by Sally El Hosaini)
Karan Kandhari, Sister Midnight
Rich Peppiatt, Kneecap

Breakthrough Performance

Nykiya Adams, Bird
Susan Chardy, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – WINNER
Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Hoard
Ruaridh Mollica, Sebastian
Jason Patel, Unicorns

Best Debut Screenwriter

Mrs. & Mr. Thomas, The Assessment (also written by John Donnelly)
Rich Peppiatt, Kneecap – WINNER
Sandhya Suri, Santosh
Karan Kandhari, Sister Midnight
James Krishna Floyd, Unicorns

Breakthrough Producer

Jacob Swan Hyam, Bring Them Down (also produced by Julianne Ford, Ivana MacKinnon, Jean-Yves Roubin, Ruth Treacey, and Cassandre Warnauts)
Hollie Bryan and Lucy Meer, The Ceremony
Rebecca Wolff, Grand Theft Hamlet (also produced by Julia Ton)
Balthazar de Ganay and James Bowsher, Santosh (also produced by Mike Goodridge and Alan McAlex) – WINNER
Ben Toye, Treading Water

Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary

Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane, Grand Theft Hamlet – WINNER
Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter, Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
Rachel Ramsay, Copa 71 (also directed by James Erskine)
Clair Titley, The Contestant

Raindance Maverick Award

The Ceremony
Grand Theft Hamlet – WINNER
Restless
Satu – The Year of the Rabbit
Witches

Best Casting

Lucy Pardee, Bird
Heather Basten, Hoard
Carla Stronge, Kneecap – WINNER
Mary Vernieu and Lindsay Graham Ahanonu, Love Lies Bleeding
Isabella Odoffin, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

Best Cinematography

Rob Hardy, Civil War
Ryan Kernaghan, Kneecap
Pawel Edelman, Lee
Ben Fordesman, Love Lies Bleeding – WINNER
Yunus Roy Imer, The Outrun

Best Editing

Joe Bini, Bird
Jake Roberts, Civil War
Julian Ulrichs and Chris Gill, Kneecap – WINNER
Margarida Cartaxo and Stuart Davidson, Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger
Stephen Bechinger, The Outrun

Best Production Design

Jan Houllevigue, The Assessment – WINNER
Caty Maxey, Civil War
Bobbie Cousins, Hoard
Nicola Moroney, Kneecap
Katie Hickman, Love Lies Bleeding

Best Costume Design

Meghan Kasperlik, Civil War
Michael O’Connor, Firebrand – WINNER
Zjena Glamocanin, Kneecap
Olga Mill, Love Lies Bleeding
Nirage Mirage, Unicorns

Best Make-Up & Hair Design

Peta Dunstall, Back to Black
Jenny Shircore, Firebrand
Megan Daum and Frieda Valenzuela, Love Lies Bleeding
Kat Morgan, The Outrun
Lisa Mustafa, Unicorns – WINNER

Best Original Music

Burial, Bird
Michael “Mikey J” Asante, Kneecap
Clint Mansell, Love Lies Bleeding – WINNER
John Gürtler and Jan Miserre, The Outrun
Stuart Earl, Unicorns

Best Music Supervision

Iain Cooke and Giles Martin, Back to Black
Gary Welch and Jeanette Rehnstrom, Kneecap – WINNER
Kle Savidge, Sister Midnight

Best Sound

Glen Freemantle, Civil War – WINNER
Louise Burton, Brendan Rehill, Aza Hand, & Simon Kerr – Kneecap
Mike Prestwood Smith, Csaba Major, & Jimmy Boyle – Lee
Paul Davies, Andrew Stirk, Linda Forsén, Rose Bladh, & Tim Burns – Love Lies Bleeding
Dominik Leube, Oscar Stiebitz, Jonathan Schorr, & Gregor Bonse – The Outrun

Best Effects

David Simpson, Civil War – WINNER
Glen McGuigan and Ingo Putze, Lee
James Allen, Love Lies Bleeding